Addressing a cultural event in the University of Tehran on Sunday, IRGC Deputy Commander Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi said the distinguished figure was assassinated in an unmanned operation on November 27.
No hit man was present at the scene of the strike, he noted, saying a machine gun equipped with a “satellite-controlled smart system” and installed on a pickup had fired a total of 13 shots in the attack.
All other bullets were fired by the body guards, Fadavi noted.
The smart system controlling the machine gun had zeroed in on Fakhrizadeh and utilized artificial intelligence, the general stated.
He said the purpose of exploding the gun-laden pickup after the shootout was to kill the 11 IRGC servicemen accompanying the scientist.
The head of the security team was shot after shielding Fakhrizadeh from bullets, Fadavi said, adding that the nuclear scientist was ultimately martyred due to a gunshot wound in his back and spinal cord amputation.
Asked about Iran’s response to the American assassination of top commander Lt. General Qassem Soleimani in early January, the IRGC deputy chief said, “We will choose how to take revenge.”
The IRGC has gained such a great power that the enemy is seeking deterrence in the face of Iran, he added.
Fakhrizadeh, a senior nuclear and defense scientist, was assassinated in a small city east of Tehran on November 27.
Last week, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani said Fakhrizadeh was assassinated in a complicated operation that involved electronic equipment without any assassin at the scene.